Page 73 of The Not So Super Hero
“Of course I can,” Bailey answered, blushing at Natalia’s soft hum of approval and Chris’ bright smile.
“I knew I liked you for a reason.”Chris wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulders, pulling him into his side with a gleeful chuckle.“You’re a good boy, Bailey.Zane is lucky to have you.”
“I...I wouldn’t say that.”
“Modesty, yet another outstanding trait you have.”
“Think of it this way, at least you don’t have to worry about impressing the in-laws.You’ve already got Chris wrapped around your finger,” Natalia said with a taunting grin.
Chris howled with laughter.Bailey pinched the bridge of his nose, face tinted red.Seriously, Zane was right.His reactions fueled the fire, and it was getting irritating!Mostly because he wasn’t sure if Zane actually thought of them as dating.Or if that was something they should even think about considering their situation.Why couldn’t his life ever be normal?Bailey wanted to go on a perfectly normal date, but no, that couldn’t happen.He had to be “Bad Luck Bailey” while Zane was a freaking mysterious piece of shit with a dark past.What the hell was up with that?!
Sighing, Bailey watched Zane’s training from above, much like the day before.However, Zane wasn’t messing around anymore.He wasn’t being his lazy self, and that was worrying.He wore a serious expression, wrinkled brow, set lips, and darkened eyes somewhere between anger and frustration.Even Natalia pointed out the change to Chris, who nodded but had nothing to say about what should be done.
Whatever Zane dreamed about put him on edge.He remained tense throughout the day.Training was actually stopped early because of that odd behavior.Before Bailey could even exit the room, Zane was already leaving.He couldn’t find Zane because when Bailey returned to their apartment, it was empty.He had no idea where Zane would go or what he was doing.He would look for Zane, but what Chris said earlier repeated in his head;Zane needs you to wait for him.
In a way, Bailey understood that.He didn’t tell Zane what happened to his sister because he wasn’t ready.Zane wasn’t ready to talk about this Isaiah person either.In the end, didn’t they have to wait for each other?
Bailey made up his mind.He walked into the kitchen and made some food.Did he mess it up?Absolutely, it wouldn’t be a typical day without such a thing happening.Afterwards, he sat on the couch flipping through the channels.The oven kept their dinner warm, if Zane even wanted to eat.Time ticked away until Zane finally returned looking like he had just ran a marathon.Judging by the sweat rolling down his face, Bailey actually wanted to say he had.
“Uh, were you running?”Bailey asked in a teasing tone.Zane walked by, head down and lips sewn shut.“Is the world ending?I didn’t know you knew how to run!”
Zane went into his room, retrieved clean clothes, then stepped into the bathroom.The door slammed shut, ending their conversation if one even wanted to call it that.Well, if he was going to be moody all day, Bailey wasn’t certain how long he could last.Sighing, he gave in and watched TV until Zane came out of the bathroom.
Without looking back, Bailey said, “Food is in the oven unless your moody ass isn’t hungry.”
See?He got snippy without even meaning to!
Zane quietly stepped into the kitchen, then opened the oven to find something peculiar.In the pan, there was rice, hamburger, and green beans in a type of white sauce.
“My mom calls it green bean casserole.You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to,” Bailey said.
It was his first time trying to make it on his own.The casserole turned out runny compared to his mom’s.He worked his ass off to make it, even cut his fingers on the cans the green beans were in because—well—he was Bailey.It turned out pretty good considering who made it.
He wouldn’t look at Zane, though.He was being stubborn while also trying to “wait”.It was a strange combination, to be honest.Though Bailey didn’t see him, he heard Zane moving about the kitchen.A small smile slipped onto his face when Zane leaned over the couch to press a kiss to his cheek.A soft touch that didn’t last nearly as long as he wanted.
Then Zane walked to his room with a plate of food.By the time Bailey could breathe again, Zane was gone.Still, he turned around to look in the direction Zane had disappeared with a smile so big it hurt his cheeks.Though it was a small action, it felt as if Zane was saying,Thanks for waiting.
The following days were similar.Zane got up early, went to train, was mostly irritable, and didn’t come back to the apartment until late.Bailey tried to make dinner while Zane sat in the kitchen doing whatever odd job to help, but always remained completely silent.It was comforting, like Zane was trying not to be a complete ass while being aware that he was moody and therefore tried not to take it out on Bailey.Maybe Bailey was putting too much thought into it, but honestly, he believed that to be the case.
Natalia, Nate, and Chris had said nothing to Zane either.Everyone treated him like a ticking time bomb, waiting for the inevitable explosion to wipe out the map.Perhaps that was bad, or maybe it was exactly what Zane needed, some space, which was what Bailey gave him.He stopped watching Zane’s training sessions.He remained at the apartment or found other ways to keep himself occupied.
At night, Bailey didn’t say much unless Zane started the conversation.Normally, their words were brief and to the point.Bailey never questioned.He simply smiled, did his best to keep the atmosphere as comfortable as possible.Some days, Zane looked like he wanted to speak.He looked at Bailey with an almost expecting gaze, then the expression vanished.
Bailey always felt dejected afterwards, but kept his word.He gave Zane the space he needed, just like he hoped if there were a time that he needed space, Zane would do the same.Before he knew it, over a week had passed.Their conversations were few to none, but each day got better than the last until finally; “I was eleven when I was sent to Raiffel,” Zane spoke.
Bailey sat at the island.Zane stood at the sink doing the dishes, back facing Bailey and probably for good reason.He shook, though his voice remained placid.
“That’s really young,” he said after Zane had remained quiet for some time.
“Natalia and Nate arrived a year later, so they were ten, I think?The facility restricted our mutations, so we only used them under certain circumstances.While our physical attributes were above average, the guards could easily handle us, and they certainly took advantage of that.”
“What do you mean?”Bailey asked, though he was certain he already had an idea.Maybe he asked to keep the conversation flowing, or maybe he did it to give Zane another moment to decide whether he really wanted to share.
“They hit us, tormented us and, well, I was a lot different back then.”Zane snorted, the sound lingering somewhere between sad and amused.“I had the Hero attitude.Protect those who can’t protect themselves.Defend others against those who wish to harm us.So, when Natalia was being handled a little too inappropriately by a guard, I jumped him.”
Bailey understood the relationship between Nate and Zane even more.The way Nate spoke about Zane, the way the two acted around each other.If Zane had so quickly protected his sister, it was no wonder Nate looked up to him.Especially considering that, by what Natalia had revealed, they weren’t taken to Raiffel by choice.
“I got in a lot of trouble, got beat up pretty bad for what I did too, but they left Natalia alone and Nate started looking up to me.He followed me around.You know he used to repeat almost everything I said?”Zane tossed Bailey a proud smirk over his shoulder.He wondered if Zane was even aware of the face he was making.“I stopped cursing so much because I felt bad when he copied me.”
